tagged w/ National Day of Prayer
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A consortium of leaders from within the community of reason endorsed the idea of a National Day of Reason. This observance is held in parallel with the National Day of Prayer, on the first Thursday in May each year. The goal of this effort is to celebrate reason—a concept all Americans can support—and to raise public awareness about the persistent threat to religious liberty posed by government intrusion into the private sphere of worship.
The National Day of Reason website is co-sponsored by the American Humanist Association and the Washington Area Secular Humanists.
The Day of Reason also exists to inspire the secular community to be visible and active on this day to set the right example for how to effect positive change. Local organizations might use “Day of Reason” to label their events, or they might choose labels such as Day of Action, Day of Service, or Rational Day of Care. The important message is to provide a positive, useful, constitutional alternative to the exclusionary National Day of Prayer.
To facilitate the commemoration of the National Day of Reason by individuals and organizations throughout the U.S., the American Humanist Association and the Washington Area Secular Humanists joined together in 2003 to launch this National Day of Reason web site.
This web site is designed to serve as the focal point for an effort to recognize the National Day of Reason, and as a platform to offer a criticism of the federally-sponsored National Day of Prayer. We hope that it will be a resource to the community of reason, the press, and the general public.
Why Do We Oppose the National Day of Prayer?
The National Day of Prayer violates the First Amendment of the US Constitution because it asks federal and local government entities to set aside tax dollar supported time and space to engage in religious ceremonies. This results in unconstitutional governmental support of religion over no religion.
Lead by fundamentalist Christian Shirley Dobson, the National Day of Prayer Task Force promoted thousands of events specifically in accordance with its Judeo-Christian beliefs and focused on a small segment of the Protestant Christianity. Since they hold their events on the government sponsored National Day of Prayer, government officials of all levels participate in these events as if they were government endorsed.
The Supreme Court has made it clear (and most Americans agree) that state sponsored prayer in school is inappropriately exclusionary. Why is a nationally sponsored day of prayer any more inclusive? This national effort geared toward a small slice of the religious spectrum is clearly outside the boundaries of proper governmental reach.
The National Day of Prayer makes those who don’t pray feel like second-class citizens. Why set aside a national day that needlessly excludes?
Religious Americans who wish to pray don’t need to be reminded by government to do so, so there’s no reason to limit prayer to a single day for those who chose to practice their chosen faith in that way. Government has no business saying when or what Americans should do when and if they engage in religious practice.
Government also violates the First Amendment with the National Day of Prayer by acting to promote a certain manifestation of religion. It emphasizes only one form of religious practice, and therefore discriminates against the many others, including alms giving, social justice, fasting, peace activism and meditation.
Many traditional religious groups encourage adherents not to make their prayer public, so this state sponsored public display of prayer is a direct affront to such teachings and disrespects countless religious Americans. Many Americans faithfully follow the words from the Sermon on the Mount, “When you pray don’t do it loudly in the synagogue or on street corners so that everyone can see you and think you are really good and holy.”
Whenever government involves itself in religious practice as is done with the National Day of Prayer it taints that religious practice by reducing the co-opted religion’s effectiveness to protest government action, and also (in an infeasible effort to broaden the practice’s appeal) government inappropriately dilutes the messages of faithful adherents.
Freedom of expression and worship, including the opportunity to pray or not pray as we wish, are already present without government endorsement. There is no need to set-aside a public day for prayer.
See: http://nationaldayofreason.orgA consortium of leaders from within the community of reason endorsed the idea of a... more
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Watch the National Day of Prayer live!
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WASHINGTON (April 22) -- The Pentagon disinvited evangelist Franklin Graham from a prayer service next month after facing pressure from a group representing angry Muslim military personnel who complained about his attacks on Islam as an "evil" religion.
Graham, the son of famed minister Billy Graham, was scheduled to speak May 6 at a National Day of Prayer event organized by a Colorado group chaired by Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family founder James Dobson. But in a statement released Thursday, Graham said the Army had changed its mind.
"I regret that the Army felt it was necessary to rescind their invitation to the National Day of Prayer Task Force to participate in the Pentagon's special prayer service," Graham said. "I want to express my strong support for the United States military and all our troops. I will continue to pray that God will give them guidance, wisdom and protection as they serve this great country."
Chuck Burton, AP
Franklin Graham had been invited to speak at a National Prayer Day event on May 6, but Muslims protested because he called Islam "a very evil and wicked religion."
Army Col. Tom Collins told AOL News that the Pentagon chaplain's office rescinded the invitation early Thursday. He said Secretary of the Army John McHugh and Army Chief of Staff George Casey decided "it would be inappropriate for him to participate in this inclusive event" in light of Graham's comments about Islam. He added, "This event is open to multiple faiths."
Collins said Dobson's group, the National Day of Prayer Task Force, has withdrawn its sponsorship of the event over the flap. Graham is the group's honorary chairman.
The chaplain's office will run the event. No new speaker has been lined up, Collins said.
"Everyone's heart was in the right place trying to set up this event," said Collins, who said organizers in the Pentagon were looking forward to hosting the "world-class Christian leader" until his comments made his appearance "problematic."
"This is as bright a day for the U.S. Constitution and freedoms in this country as it is a dark day for the Islamic extremists we're fighting because their propaganda tool has been taken away," Mikey Weinstein, president of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, told AOL News in reaction to the Pentagon's decision.
Weinstein added that he hoped the Pentagon would not attempt "a bait and switch" in which another "Islamaphobe" would simply be substituted for Graham. He said lawyers for his group would seek a restraining order in federal court to cancel the event if that happens but otherwise would not object, even though he agrees with a decision last week by a federal judge in Wisconsin who ruled the U.S. law authorizing a National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.
The Obama administration Thursday said the Justice Department would appeal the Wisconsin decision. President Harry Truman declared a National Day of Prayer 59 years ago, and it has been a staple in Washington ever since.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates last month, Weinstein said his group had been contacted by Muslims at the Pentagon who were offended by Graham's planned appearance. He cited statements after the 9/11 attacks in which the minister called Islam "a very evil and wicked religion."
Graham later wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal saying he did not believe Muslims were evil because of their faith, but "as a minister ... I believe it is my responsibility to speak out against the terrible deeds that are committed as a result of Islamic teaching."
But in 2009 Graham said on CNN, "True Islam cannot be practiced in this country. You can't beat your wife. You cannot murder your children if you think they've committed adultery or something like that, which they do practice in these other countries. ... I don't agree with the teachings of Islam, and I find it to be a very violent religion."
And on Thursday, Graham stuck to his remarks on Fox News that Muslims are "enslaved" by their religion.
Ibrahim Hooper of the Council on American-Islamic Relations applauded the Pentagon decision.
"Obviously, Pentagon officials made the right move in disinviting a person who spreads hatred against a particular faith, a faith that is practiced by tens of millions of people that military personnel are interacting with on a daily basis," he said.WASHINGTON (April 22) -- The Pentagon disinvited evangelist Franklin Graham from a... more
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A federal judge in Wisconsin declared Thursday that the US law authorizing a National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.
US District Judge Barbara Crabb said the federal statute violates the First Amendment’s prohibition on government endorsement of religion.
She issued a 66-page decision and enjoined President Obama from issuing an executive order calling for the celebration of a National Day of Prayer.
The National Day of Prayer was first authorized by Congress in 1952. Since 1988, the date has been set as the first Thursday in May.
The judge stayed her own injunction pending the resolution of any appeals.
“I understand that many may disagree with [my] conclusion and some may even view it as critical of prayer or those who pray. That is unfortunate,” Judge Crabb wrote.
'The government may not endorse a religious message'“A determination that the government may not endorse a religious message is not a determination that the message itself is harmful, unimportant, or undeserving of dissemination,” she said. “Rather it is part of the effort to carry out the Founders’ plan of preserving religious liberty to the fullest extent possible in a pluralistic society.”;_ylt=Ah5YHvRiClIcR5zLYKeEg7Ws0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNiZWY0bGdnBGFzc2V0A2NzbS8yMDEwMDQxNi8yOTQ... more
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A federal judge in Wisconsin declared Thursday that the US law authorizing a National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional.
US District Judge Barbara Crabb said the federal statute violates the First Amendment’s prohibition on government endorsement of religion.
She issued a 66-page decision and enjoined President Obama from issuing an executive order calling for the celebration of a National Day of Prayer.
The National Day of Prayer was first authorized by Congress in 1952. Since 1988, the date has been set as the first Thursday in May.
The judge stayed her own injunction pending the resolution of any appeals.
“I understand that many may disagree with [my] conclusion and some may even view it as critical of prayer or those who pray. That is unfortunate,” Judge Crabb wrote.
'The government may not endorse a religious message'“A determination that the government may not endorse a religious message is not a determination that the message itself is harmful, unimportant, or undeserving of dissemination,” she said. “Rather it is part of the effort to carry out the Founders’ plan of preserving religious liberty to the fullest extent possible in a pluralistic society.”
The action came as a result of a lawsuit filed by members of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a Madison, Wisconsin group founded in 1976. The group is pledged to promote the concept of separation of church and state. It also seeks to educate the public on matters of “nontheism.”
The Rev. Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, praised Judge Crabb’s ruling.
“This decision is a tremendous victory for religious liberty,” he said. “Congress has no business telling Americans when or how to pray.”
Lynn added: “The Constitution forbids the government to meddle in religious matters. Decisions about worship should be made by individuals without direction from elected officials. That’s what freedom is all about.”
Navigating between US Supreme Court rulings Judge Crabb said the case challenging the prayer statute arose at the intersection of competing lines of US Supreme Court jurisprudence. On one side, the court has said that the government violates the First Amendment’s establishment clause when it endorses a particular religious belief or practice, such as prayer.
On the other side, the court has also ruled that some public displays of religion are merely “ceremonial deism,” reflecting a general religious heritage, but not crossing the line to unconstitutional endorsement.
Crabb said in her view the key test between these two conflicting lines of decision is whether the government’s conduct “serves a significant secular purpose and is not a call for religious action on the part of citizens.”
She said the law establishing a National Day of Prayer cannot meet that test. “It goes beyond mere acknowledgment of religion because its sole purpose is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context,” the judge wrote.
"In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience."
Judge Crabb said her ruling is not a "judgment on the value of prayer or the millions of Americans who believe in its power."
She added: “Recognizing the importance of prayer to many people does not mean the government may enact a statute in support of it, any more than the government may encourage citizens to fast during the month of Ramadan, attend a synagogue, purify themselves in a sweat lodge, or practice rune magic.”A federal judge in Wisconsin declared Thursday that the US law authorizing a National... more
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April 15, 2010
Congress Has No Business Telling Americans When Or How To Pray, Says AU’s Lynn
Americans United for Separation of Church and State today praised a federal district court for striking down the congressionally mandated National Day of Prayer.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb of the Western District of Wisconsin ruled that the federal law violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
Crabb held that the sole purpose of the federal law “is to encourage all citizens to engage in prayer, an inherently religious exercise that serves no secular function in this context. In this instance, the government has taken sides on a matter that must be left to individual conscience.”
The Rev. Barry W. Lynn, Americans United executive director, said, “This decision is a tremendous victory for religious liberty. Congress has no business telling Americans when or how to pray.
“The Constitution forbids the government to meddle in religious matters,” Lynn continued. “Decisions about worship should be made by individuals without direction from elected officials. That’s what freedom is all about.”
Lynn said the National Day of Prayer is of recent vintage. It was created by Congress in 1952. The scheduling of the event used to change, but it was codified by Congress in 1988 (after pressure from the Religious Right) as the first Thursday in May.
Lynn noted that America’s Founders did not intend for government to intrude in Americans’ individual religious choices. Thomas Jefferson, for example, refused to issue prayer proclamations, observing, “Fasting & prayer are religious exercises. The enjoining them an act of discipline. Every religious society has a right to determine for itself the times for these exercises, & the objects proper for them, according to their own particular tenets; and this right can never be safer than in their own hands, where the Constitution has deposited it.”
James Madison, considered the Father of the Constitution, issued a few prayer proclamations at the behest of Congress during the War of 1812. But he later wrote that he regretted the move.
Governmental religious proclamations, Madison observed, “seem to imply and certainly nourish the erroneous idea of a national religion.” He warned that there would always be a tendency “to narrow the recommendation to the standard of the predominant sect.”
Americans United is a religious liberty watchdog group based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1947, the organization educates Americans about the importance of church-state separation in safeguarding religious freedom.
http://www.au.org/April 15, 2010
Congress Has No Business Telling Americans When Or How To Pray, Says... more
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